Uncommon Cents

This is the first in what I am hoping will be a great ongoing series of guest posts by Kyle of the fabulous Rather-Be-Shopping.com, which combines a coupon site with a personal finance blog. Kyle has been a really big supporter of Uncommon Cents and writes an enjoyable blog; I’ve also been poring through his collection of online coupons whenever I need to do some shopping myself. Mahalo nui loa to Kyle for this first of what I hope to be many weekly articles on online coupons:

First of all, I want to thank Ryan for allowing me to test out a new ‘online coupon’ feature on Uncommon Cents. I welcome the opportunity to share some online coupons that may be of use as well as some related frugal living tips and general musings. A little about me, my name is Kyle James, I live in northern California with my wife and 3 young children. I own and operate a website called Rather-Be-Shopping.com which specializes in online coupons for over 500 stores, organized in 23 shopping categories. I also have a blog, where I write about frugal living and tips on saving money to make life a bit easier.

I think Uncommon Cents is a great read and in my blog reader. This is not an attempt to suck up, I honestly like what Ryan throws down day to day! In particular, I have been enjoying Ryan’s series ‘Hunting For Discounts’. The posts in this series go to show that discounts and deals are always around, you just have to know what rock to look under.

Speaking of which, did anyone catch the episode of 20/20 on ABC last Friday night? They had a segment titled ‘How To Bargain Anywhere, With Anyone’ where they talked about haggling for a better price, even at big chain stores like Macy’s, Home Depot, and Best Buy. It was very interesting piece, and Teri Gault, the creator of The Grocery Game.com, gave some great tips:

~ Assume It’s Negotiable - Gault gave the example of big ticket items like furniture and electronics. In the segment, she went into a large furniture store and asked the sales associate what was the best price he could give her. He said it was not on sale, at which point she asked to speak with a manager who in the end sold the item to her for $40 off the sticker price!

~ Look For Imperfect Items - This would seem to work well in clothing and hardware stores where many items have imperfections. I have asked for a discount this way with good success. I used to work at The Home Depot and we were encouraged to lower the price for customers to move imperfect items off the shelf and out of the store.

~ Quantity Discount - This is the notion that the more you buy, the bigger the discount you should ask for. I did this at Best Buy a couple years ago when I was buying a TV and a DVD player. I asked the manager if he would give me $50 off the DVD player if I bought both today. He said “sure” faster than I could finish my sentence. Always worth a shot.

~ Do Your Research and Compare Prices - You have a great negotiating tool if you know what other stores are selling the item for. Many stores have a price match policy or a 110% price match guarantee where they will actually undersell their competition. Knowledge is power!

There definitely is a science to haggling and choosing the right words to use. I am not sure if I would feel comfortable asking to speak to a manager just to see if he/she could lower the price on a single item that had nothing wrong with it. For me, that might cross the line into just being a pain in the rear-end! Have any of you ever done this? If so, were you successful in scoring a discount?

Whether you are a haggler or not, hopefully these coupons can help you save some additional money shopping at some of the more popular online stores. No haggling required to get these discounts.

Barnes & Noble.com
Save 25% off any single item your online order
Coupon Code: A8P8N9P
Expiration: 5/27/08
See All My Barnes & Noble Coupons

JCPenney.com
Save 15% Off your Online Order at JCPenney.com
Coupon Code: SURVAPR
Expiration: 4/22/08
See All My JCPenney Coupons

Old Navy.com
Save 20% Off your Order when you use your Old Navy or Gap Credit Card
Coupon Code: STUFFSAVE
Expiration: 4/24/08
See All My Old Navy Coupons

Footlocker.com
Save 15% Off your Online Order at Footlocker.com
Coupon Code: LKS18M15
Expiration: 5/03/08
See All My Footlocker Coupons

Kmart.com
Save 10% Off your Online Order at Kmart.com
Coupon Code: AK10OFF7
Expiration: 4/19/08
See All My Kmart Coupons

American Eagle Outfitters.com
Save 15% Off your Online Order at AEO.com
Coupon Code: 33462192
Expiration: 4/20/08
See All My American Eagle Coupons

Kohls.com
Save 10% Off your Online Order at Kohl’s
Coupon Code: new9710
Expiration: 4/26/08
See All My Kohls Coupons

Lane Bryant.com
Save 20% Off your Online Order at Lane Bryant
Coupon Code: 00203838
Expiration: 6/01/08
See All My Lane Bryant Coupons

Smart Bargains.com
Save 12% Off your Online Order for New Customers (Discount appears at checkout)
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 4/30/08
See All My Smart Bargains Coupons

I would strongly encourage anyone interested in spending less on their next purchases to check out Kyle’s Rather-Be-Shopping.com!

Tags: Administration, Budgeting, Frugality, Links

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